Utah May Offer Health Insurance in Exchange for Community Service

Utah health officials are mulling over the idea of giving health insurance to cash-strapped people in exchange for community service.

Utah health officials are mulling over the idea of giving health insurance to cash-strapped people in exchange for community service.

If someone can’t afford to pay Medicaid co-pays and premiums, they could still get Primary Care Network benefits if they lend a hand to certain nonprofits, schools, or businesses for eight hours a month, according to the Deseret News. The state can’t start the pilot program without federal approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, though, and officials still haven’t decided whether they will seek the waiver -- they have until Jan. 1.

Opponents, including Utah Health Policy Project Director Judi Hilman, told the paper that the program’s administrative costs would be too high and that "it is getting us so far from the basic need of health care for these individuals."